1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a robot apparatus having a plurality of arm and hand manipulator assemblies.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Japanese Patent Publication No. SHO 63-295193 discloses a double arm robot. The double arms of the robot are operated in harmony with each other by means of a control computer. That prior art robot has several deficiencies.
First, since the bases of the double arms of the prior art robot are fixed, the area which the arms can access is limited.
Second, when the parts supply area is located relatively far from the assembly area, the area which the robot arm must be capable of accessing must be large. As a result, the size of the robot must be great, which in turn increases the length of the work conveyor line along which the robot apparatuses are disposed.
Third, a complicated control of the arms with the computer is needed to avoid interference between the arms. Furthermore, once an interference occurs, the repair work is complex and takes a relatively long period of time.